CHAPTER 148: MARRIAGE PROPOSAL (1)

"John," called Jack. "What’s the condition of Kayden’s family jewels?"

John looked between Jack and the still fuming old man and shook his head. This was clearly not the first time he’d seen the old man get a bug up his ass about something.

"As far as we can tell, they are crushed beyond recovery. The boy will probably die of sepsis if he’s not treated."

The old man glared at John like he thought John was lying and hoped glaring at him would force him to confess.

John just glared back.

Finally, the old man relented and said, "Fine. Show me."

John lifted the blanked and pulled it to one side. What Jack saw made him mildly nauseous. Kayden’s sack was the size of a grapefruit, mostly purple, with black and green highlights. He half expected to see the surface ripple, like it was infested with demon worms.

Wow, that looks nasty. And to think, I didn’t even hear or feel them pop!

Despite the unpleasant sight, he was pleased with the results of his footwork.

"Dear lord," muttered the old man.

When the old man turned to look at Jack, Jack asked mockingly, "Still think this is some kind of charade?"

Jack watched as suborn pride wrestled with hard evidence inside the old man. Eventually, hard evidence won and the old man’s shoulders slumped.

Then he said, "I...might have overreacted a bit."

Now that the old man had let go of his foolish misconception about Jack, Jack could address the other immediate problem.

He stepped closer and said, "Your granddaughter has just suffered a traumatic experience, and what was the first thing you said to her as she ran towards you, tears in her eyes?"

As Jack spoke, the old man’s expression shifted from mulish to confused to dawning horror.

Jack pointed at Lily, still on her knees, crying. The old man slowly, reluctantly, turned to look at his sobbing granddaughter.

"Oh Lily, what have I done?" he whispered, before he walked towards his granddaughter.

As the old man walked away, John approached and said. "Sorry about that. I knew he was angry, but didn’t realize he’d gotten the wrong idea about the situation. He gets like this sometimes. Now that the storm has passed, he’ll be contrite and apologize. First to Lily, then to you."

Jack watched as the old man knelt beside Lily and placed a hand on her back. She flinched and said something heated to him. The old man flinched in turn, then replied. They talked for a few moments, then Lily sat up and grabbed her grandfather in a hug, still sobbing.

"I’m so sorry, grandpa. I was so mean to you. Please forgive me."

It was faint, but Jack could still hear Lily apologizing to her grandfather.

Jack turned his attention away from the two as they continued to apologize to each other and glanced at the two salespeople. They looked pale and deeply disturbed.

"What’s going to happen to them?" he asked John.

"Nothing," replied John. "Kayden may have paid them, but he also threatened them. And, as far as we can tell, they didn’t know what he had planned, nor were they aware of Lily’s age. So they will be left alone."

He told himself he wanted to live a normal life, at least through college, yet he already found himself swimming in deep waters.

At least he had wealth and power, in the form of Genesis Heart. The two salespeople had none of that, and he could imagine how it must feel to have someone with the backing of a wealthy family making threats.

Sophia asked John, "We originally came here to do some shopping. Do you mind if we avail ourselves of one of the salespeople?"

"No, go ahead," replied John.

Shortly after Sophia grabbed the saleswoman, they approached Jack to tell him they had some outfits arranged for him in one of the changing rooms. He was just walking out of the changing room so Sophia and the girls could get a look when the old man entered the alcove.

The old man stopped in front of Jack and bowed deeply.

"Please forgive a foolish old man. I should have waited for John and his people to assess the situation before reaching any conclusions. I fear that I am, and may always be, irrational when it comes to Lily."

John had been right. The old man had apologized. Jack was tempted to comment on the old man’s foolishness, but decided to leave it alone.

"I accept your apology."

Since the old man’s apology felt formal, Jack chose a formal reply.

The old man straightened and looked at Jack like a gold miner staring at a newly discovered rich gold vein.

"Not once since her parents died has Lily apologized to me. Yet not only has she apologized to me for her recent behavior, she asked for my advice! You have accomplished in minutes what I feared would never happen."

The old man bowed to Jack again and said, "Please marry my granddaughter!"

The old man’s request was so far from expectations that Jack’s mind temporarily short-circuited.

"She’s fifteen!" he blurted, before he could think of a proper reply.

The old man nodded. "True, but she’ll be sixteen in a few months. Then there won’t be any legal issues."

Jack almost said, "That’s not what I meant!" but the look in the old man’s eye made him realize the old man might not care about Lily’s maturity level.

"I am in a long term committed relationship with two women and am dating four others. I have no intention of living a monogamous life. Until polygamy is legalized, I will not be getting married to anyone."

The old man seemed genuinely shocked for a few moments, before scowling and muttering, "That Martel woman’s influence, I’m sure."

"False!" said Jack. "My desire for a haram existed long before I met or even knew about Sophia Martel."

The old man harrumphed, then sighed and said, "Will you at least be her friend?"